Good Morning, fellow accursed ones. Apparently this industry has burrowed deep deep into my soul. I have been 'out of the game' for years. Still do installs for other companies here and there but dad and I have got it in our heads that we should open the ol' family business once again. And we are starting from scratch. I know there are companies out there that wholesale just about everything we would need(cabinets, channel letters, digital prints, etc) but I would love to get your opinions on what would be a definite 'must have' on premise. We are currently working on getting a bucket and scouting locations. What has been tried and true with y'all? It's 2024 and I'm old school but I've got young minds around me ready to keep us relevant for years to come. Thank you for any guidance and wisdom.
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New Guy Opinions, Suggestions and ALL YOUR FREAKING KNOWLEDGE.....please
- Thread starter 4RE
- Start date
White Haus
Not a Newbie
Welcome to Signs 101.
Learn all you can about LED's: Drivers, Lumens, K Color, etc., stock a few common drivers (power supplies) in 12v & 24 v. Have a good program for vector design: Corel or Illustrator. Buy everything from a wholesaler you can: B2 signs, Signs 365, etc. DO NOT TAKE WALK IN's. Make them pay, you are a pro. Works for me!!
GraphixGirl79
New Member
Invest in a good computer/ drawing program (adobe or corel), and a must have printer and vinyl cutter at least to start. You can do most things with those things as a minimum. Having a router table eventually is good too and doesn't need to be brand new state of the art either. Heck we are still running an old CadCam machine from the 80's. lol. it's a dinosaur, but still works like a charm. Make sure your shop has enough space for maneuvering larger signs if that's what you tend to get into for construction / servicing. Everyone is switching to LEDs these days, so knowledge in that area is good as well. Good luck!
Texas_Signmaker
Very Active Signmaker
Bucket truck and all the things needed to install. Vinyl cutter, table and supplies to apply vinyl to substrates. Everything else that needs to be manufactured can be subbed out... that's how I operate. If you want to print in house, get a printer and laminator, but it's not needed to get started. No need for storefront, you can work from home.
citysignshop
New Member
I may be the last person to give advice, nearly 40 years since having my own shop....but with age comes realism, pessimism, alllllll the 'isms.....
You may already be experts at this, since you've had your own shop, but the 'structure' of the business, for tax, liability and succession planning would be a good start.
If you have a bucket truck, and are doing installs for someone else, you'd better protect your house and other assets from someone that may want to get their fingers on them if the worst happens.
just my $.02
have fun!
( really, you're SURE you don't want to open a tattoo, weed and vape shop?....that seems to be the big money-makers right now!) ;-b)
You may already be experts at this, since you've had your own shop, but the 'structure' of the business, for tax, liability and succession planning would be a good start.
If you have a bucket truck, and are doing installs for someone else, you'd better protect your house and other assets from someone that may want to get their fingers on them if the worst happens.
just my $.02
have fun!
( really, you're SURE you don't want to open a tattoo, weed and vape shop?....that seems to be the big money-makers right now!) ;-b)
Geneva Olson
Expert Storyteller
that made me giggle. from the other thread.
JBurton
Signtologist
In short, set up a LLC. Helps to keep disgruntled someones from seeking to recoup losses via your personal property.